The Lam surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 55,554 people carried this name — #611 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 5,310 people counted. That is up 25% from 44,385 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Lam surname
Borrowed from Cantonese 林 (lam4) or Cantonese 藍／蓝 (lam4).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Lam» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 591 people named Lam.
Most of them — 526 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 23 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
565 people named Lam live in Switzerland.
They live in 20 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 194 people named Lam live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 66 people named Lam live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
38 people named Lam have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 165 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 3 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
1,255 people named Lam are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Lam in American newspapers,
1905–1955.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,979,558 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Lam,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Jan Lam 1838–1886 · writer -
Dirk de Vries Lam 1869–1937 · painter -
Herman Johannes Lam 1892–1977 · university teacher -
Mithan Jamshed Lam 1898–1981 · barrister -
Wifredo Lam 1902–1982 · artist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 184 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Lam.
- Lallement 164 · U.S. census
- Lallier 751 · U.S. census
- Lally 5,808 · U.S. census
- Lalo 243 · U.S. census
- Lalonde 5,134 · U.S. census
- Lalos 108 · U.S. census
- Lama 2,958 · U.S. census
- Lamaire 129 · U.S. census
- Lamal 106 · U.S. census
- Lamanna 2,932 · U.S. census
- Lamarca 1,723 · U.S. census
- Lamarche 2,077 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Lam is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.